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Thoughts on the Coronavirus
This coronavirus had me digging into my investing library last week. I meandered over my bookcases of investing memoirs, histories,...

Chris Mayer
Feb 4, 20205 min read
2,540 views


What is it, really?
Two little boys were playing on a sand pile. One heaped the sand up and said, “It is a mountain.” The other boy insisted, “No it isn’t....

Chris Mayer
Jan 23, 20207 min read
2,200 views


City Cinderella
I was flipping through my library of investing books, as I sometimes do, and I came across a book titled City Cinderella: The Life and...

Chris Mayer
Jan 15, 20204 min read
2,810 views


Woodlock House Q4 Letter
I hope you had a nice holiday season. I thought I'd start the year by sharing my Q4 letter. Please see our disclaimers. The version below...

Chris Mayer
Jan 7, 202017 min read
18,744 views


Ideas for 2020
A little something different today, as I take a few guesses about what to invest in for the year ahead (and beyond). It’s a fun exercise....

Chris Mayer
Dec 12, 20198 min read
5,967 views


Stockpicking: Dying art?
A couple of things I read this week got me thinking. Here’s the story… in three acts: I. Even Concentrated Portfolios Have Lagged the...

Chris Mayer
Dec 6, 20195 min read
3,669 views


The Quest for Better Explanations
I recently finished David Deutsch’s The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations that Transform the World (2011), which I thought was an...

Chris Mayer
Nov 20, 20195 min read
2,007 views


Jim Simons and The Rise of Mathematicians
I have been thinking about Jim Simons’ mind-blowing achievement at his Medallion hedge fund: "From 1988 to 2018, Medallion returned 66.1%...

Chris Mayer
Nov 7, 20195 min read
2,818 views


Reflections on Howard Hughes
Yesterday, Howard Hughes released its much-anticipated review of strategic alternatives. With the shares down 18%, I suppose it is safe...

Chris Mayer
Oct 22, 201910 min read
4,406 views


Alfred Korzybski and… Warren Buffett
A little something different in this post -- * General semantics - power tools for critical thinking * My acceptance speech for the S.I....

Chris Mayer
Oct 15, 20198 min read
2,301 views


Online Brokers, NYC REITs, Music Industry & More
Some short notes below – on the online brokers and zero commissions, on the music industry’s mid-year report, on the value in New York...

Chris Mayer
Oct 8, 20196 min read
2,208 views


What's a "good" track record? + SATS Spinoff
Would you be interested in a fund that underperformed its benchmark in five years out of six? Would you consider this a “good” track...

Chris Mayer
Sep 25, 20195 min read
1,919 views


Superforecasters, or…?
Phil Tetlock spoke at Greenwood Investors investor day in New York last week. Tetlock, as you probably know, wrote a bestseller titled...

Chris Mayer
Sep 9, 20196 min read
2,090 views


The Horse Story
We simply call it, “the horse story.” A friend of mine and I, who I meet regularly for lunch, invoke it often. At a recent lunch, we...

Chris Mayer
Sep 4, 20195 min read
4,427 views


Two Stocks Near 52-Week Lows
Earnings season is over. And Woodlock’s portfolio companies made it through all right. I had no palm-sweating, thesis-killing moments...

Chris Mayer
Aug 22, 20196 min read
4,101 views


Hot Water, Banks, Sapolsky
The macro stuff seems deafening right now. Trade wars, interest rates, currency shifts, etc., dominate the headlines and seem to drive...

Chris Mayer
Aug 9, 20195 min read
2,090 views


Vivendi Notes, Bagehot
Below are notes on Vivendi (Disclosure: Woodlock House owns shares of Vivendi at an average price of ~ €22). Further on down, a look at...

Chris Mayer
Jul 29, 20195 min read
1,766 views


International “Outsider” CEOs
Today, I’ll share the list of potential international “outsiders” readers submitted. We’ll also take a look at IBKR’s earnings report....

Chris Mayer
Jul 17, 20198 min read
5,061 views


Wetherspoon: buybacks, free cash flow machine, owner-operator
I think the first time I heard the name Tim Martin, chairman and founder at JD Wetherspoon, was at MOI Global’s Latticework conference in...

Chris Mayer
Jul 10, 20194 min read
3,339 views


Downside Protection
Below are notes from a new book, along with thoughts on Howard Hughes Corp’s big move and the “rabbit” finally revealed at Interactive...

Chris Mayer
Jul 3, 20195 min read
2,615 views
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